Planning Document Gives Hints On New Burlington Mall Tenants

BURLINGTON, MA — Simon Property Group will add a beer garden, a new location for a national Mexican restaurant chain and a salon to the Burlington Mall, according to a document submitted to the Burlington planning department. Simon is remaking the end of the mall once occupied by Sears, which closed last year, into a "lifestyle center" that mixes housing, stores and restaurants in an open-air concept similar to centers in Dedham and Lynnfield.

To date, Simon has released few specifics on the tenants that will occupy the newly-redeveloped portion of the mall. The Burlington Planning Board approved a special permit for Cava Mezze Grill, a Mediterranean restaurant, to locate at the mall in January. And last month Simon Property said Caffè Nero will open its second location at the mall in September as part of the first phase of the Village at Burlington Mall makeover.

But a floor plan submitted to the planning board as Simon Property seeks approval for the remake of an exterior entrance shows other proposed businesses, including:

• Earl's Kitchen, a Canadian chain that currently has 10 locations in the U.S., including Assembly Row in Somerville and the Prudential Center in Boston.
• Uncle Julio's, an upscale Mexican food chain, plans to open a "studio kitchen" at the mall.
• A salon. The plan does not specify the owner or name of the business.
• One of the biggest new restaurant space on the plan is labeled as "Proposed The Beer Garden."
• A new location for The Paper Store.
• Taste Buds Kitchen, a company that offers cooking events for kids and currently has 14 U.S. locations, including North Andover and Beverly.

The revelation of the new tenants come as Burlington selectmen try to block Simon's application for nine new liquor licenses. Selectmen unanimously said they did not approve the bill before the state legislature granting the new legislature. Selectmen said they were concerned with the number of licenses at the mall, as well as licenses in new development nearby.

Simon Property Group is remaking the mall's former Sears store into a "lifestyle center" with pedestrian areas connecting the mall to a new, stand-alone, mixed-use development. The new 35,000 square-foot, single-story, retail and restaurant building will replace the Sears automotive center and bring about a dozen new tenants to the mall. Sears closed in April 2018 after 50 years at the mall.

The plan calls for a reduction of 18,000 square feet in retail space, but the mall's owners have said they are "aggressively pursuing high-quality tenants to populate the new facilities which are intended appeal to the area retail market."

Simon Property Group announced its plan to renovate the mall in April 2018, and expects the project to be complete in spring 2020. In its current configuration, the mall has 1.3 million square feet of space and more than 160 stores.

Dave Copeland covers Burlington for Patch and can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).